After decades as a superstar of the wrestling world, Hogan and the Total Nonstop Action wrestling company he now is general manager of, want the focus to be on the action in the ring, not as much of the showmanship.
Well, with "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, you’re going to have at least a little bit of showmanship.
"It’s an artform and a lot of the artform has been lost because the TV demands that things happen fast and get out of the ring," Hogan said in a recent telephone interview. "So we’re trying to make wrestling how it should be."
The Total Nonstop Action Impact Wrestling Live event stops in Tulsa this week, but due to recent tension on the show, he may not make it to town.
"I think Dixie (Carter) has flipped the switch or something, she’s off on a tangent here," Hogan said, talking about a disagreement he had on last week’s show with Carter, the president of TNA wrestling.
Last week, Carter gave Hogan an ultimatum to stay with her or leave TNA, though her appearance received many boos from the audience.
Hogan serves — or served — as general manager of the company.
Hogan or no, the lineup of wrestlers slated to thrill fans at the Cox Business Center arena Thursday include some of today’s stars as well as familiar members, including current TNA heavyweight champion Bully Ray,
"The Icon" Sting, Carter, "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles, "The Charismatic Enigma" Jeff Hardy, "The IT Factor" Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, the TNA Knockouts others.
For Hogan, it’s a bit surreal to still be working in the wrestling business. But he can’t imagine doing anything else.
"At 60 years young I thought I’d be sitting on a beach drinking a piña colada with the werewolf of London right now," Hogan said. "I didn’t think I would still be on the road running around with these wrestlers."
Hogan, born Terry Bollea, gained fame in the wrestling world of the 1980s, becoming one of the most recognized wrestlers in the world. His signature long blonde hair and Fu Manchu facial hair became iconic as Hogan held heavyweight wrestling belts for years through the ’80s and ’90s.
Many of the wrestlers in the ring now were inspired to take that path by the people Hogan inspired, he said.
"Some of them are 30, 40 years old and grew up watching me and now the older generation of kids is getting into the business because they were fans of the people who got in the business because of me," Hogan said.
He’s also surprised by his influence to those outside of the field and around the world.
"It gets weird when people like (basketball star) LeBron James comes up to me and they’re shaking like a leaf saying, ‘Oh my god, you were my hero growing up. You’re like a dad figure to me,’ " Hogan said. "That’s the stuff that’s crazy, people outside my business. I didn’t really realize how it impacted so much of our society."
Hogan also made appearances on television shows, including a reality show in 2005, and he’s making waves now swinging from a wrecking ball in an ad for his website hosting service Hostamania, parodying pop star Miley Cyrus. But whatever he does, he said he always comes back to wrestling.
"No. 1, when you’re addicted to something it’s hard to get it out of your blood," Hogan said. "I just love being around this business even though I don’t wrestle anymore."
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